LOCAL NOTES : Titan Baseball Team Signs Leckie, Silva

La Quinta High School third baseman Matt Leckie, a Times All-Orange County selection, and Redondo Beach High pitcher Ted Silva, a Times All-South Bay pick, have signed letters of intent to play baseball at Cal State Fullerton, Titan assistant Rick Vanderhook said Monday.

Leckie led Orange County batters with a .500 average (39 for 78) and was second in the county in hits. He also had three home runs, 11 doubles, 26 runs batted in and 20 runs.

Leckie, who had a 3.75 grade-point average, was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in an undisclosed round but did not sign a professional contract. A two-year varsity starter at La Quinta, he batted .310 as a junior.

Silva, a right-hander whose most effective pitch is a slider, went 9-3 with a 0.64 earned-run average last season. He struck out 100, walked only 18 in 66 innings and was named Ocean League most valuable player.

Silva also played point guard on Redondo Beach’s basketball team and quarterback on the football team.

Vanderhook said the Titans, who lost to Pepperdine, 3-2, in the College World Series championship game in June, have completed their recruiting for this year, having signed eight high school players and three community college players.

The Newport Dukes evened their record at 3-3 with a 26-23 victory over Raleigh in a TeamTennis match Monday at Raleigh, N.C.

The team of Ronnie Bathman and Rikard Bergh closed out the match with a 6-4 victory over Mike DePalmer and Tim Wilkison in men’s doubles.

Amy Frazier and Lise Gregory combined for a 6-4 victory in women’s doubles for the Dukes. Raleigh is 1-5.

Milan Milanovic of Switzerland won the 31st stage of the Runners’ World Trans America Footrace, but Huntington Beach’s David Warady remained the overall leader.

Milanovic covered the 40.9 miles from St. Francis to Atwood, Kan., in 6 hours 20 minutes 36 seconds. Warady ran 7:07:25 for the day and has an overall lead of 6:00:49. Today marks the half-way point of the race.